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Saturday, October 27, 2012

Bettina Rheims: Gender Studies

JJ Levine's "Switch" was an interesting look at how men and women can easily change gender roles with a few well-executed wardrobe changes. While modern society imposes rules about what is masculine and feminine, some individuals confound these social norms and choose to be something in between. This is how artist Bettina Rheims sees the third sex with her "Gender Studies". (WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS NUDITY).

Bettina Rheims began working as a model, journalist and art dealer before moving behind the camera. She then focused on sexuality and eroticism, expanding her subject matter to include transexuality. She also began working with advertisements, particularly for fashion magazines. Here, work exploring female and male concepts were put to good use. Among the many subjects she's worked with, she's well known for her work with androgynous model Andrej Pejic.

The topic of third gender is difficult to discuss because it varies from culture to culture. In India, the Hijra are males who adopt female clothing and roles, and in Thailand, most kathoey or ladyboys see themselves as women. In Australia, passport holders are now allowed to mark their gender with an "X" to indicate intersex or indeterminate, while in Germany, the matter is still up for debate.

Rheims' photos forces viewers to think about a new standard when meeting new persons. This isn't an easy thing to do because when people look at other people, their minds immediately try to classify them as either man or woman, boy or girl, male or female. With Rheims' images, it becomes difficult. Some have masculine faces with feminine bodies, while others are straddle the line between those two extremes.

In selecting the subjects for her Gender Studies, Rheims wasn't particular about their appearance nor their sex before their transformation. Instead, during their initial interviews, the photographer looked for their sincerity about their whole identity and not just in terms of gender. Even with all of the physical changes they've made to their body, the real person isn't just a face in a photograph, but someone who's worth getting to know as a friend.

6 comments:

great subject but...I think the photographer could have taken it to another level. The photos are just ok, in my opinion, it's the unusual subject matter that attract the viewers, not the photographic skill...I would like to know who are these people and what are their stories, how the chosen gender clashes with the biological sex...